14But I have trusted upon You, YHVH. I say, “You [are]
my God.” 15In Your hand [are] my times. Rescue me from the hand of
my enemies and from ones pursuing me.
These
two verses, Psalm 31:14,15, are perhaps one of the greatest illustrations of
faith in the Bible. Were these simply statements of faith, they would certainly
be beautiful things; but they are expressed in the context of the preceding
five verses, which I have earlier described as a “catalog of miseries!” These
words do not represent the idle expressions of a man enjoying his prosperity.
They come from a person in the very midst of abject suffering.
“All
the world seems marshaled against me … but I trust in You.” Ah, sweet faith.
Here, truly we see one of the very glories of faith itself – its calming,
re-assuring, peace-giving power when “all around my soul gives way.”
It
is interesting that David has made this very statement, “But I trust in You”
earlier in the Psalm, in v.6, with one very important difference: In v.6, he
referred to the Lord in the 3rd person. There, David said, “I trust
in the Lord.” Now in v.14, David’s heart moves to the 2nd person and
he says, “I trust in You.” “In You.” This is after the horrors of vv.9-13! Note there is nothing like troubles
to move our hearts from a distant, 3rd person relationship with God
to, instead, a very intense personal 2nd person relationship. In
trials He becomes no longer “Him” but “You.”
Interestingly
we see this very transition in the old familiar 23rd Psalm. In the
first 4 ½ verses, everything David says of the Lord is in the 3rd
person: “The Lord is my Shepherd … He
makes me to lie down in green pasture … He
restores my soul.” But then in v.4, David finds himself walking through “the
valley of the shadow of death,” and suddenly he can say, “… I will fear no
evil, for You are with me …” and the
entire rest of the Psalm speaks to the Lord in the 2nd person – to You.
And
look again what David says in our Psalm today: “But I have trusted in You,
Lord. I say, “You are my God.” My times are in Your hand. Rescue me from the
hand of my enemies and those pursuing me.” The “trust” is the same word as back
in v6, bataq, which means to recklessly put our faith in Him. When
all around my soul gives way, what do I do? I fall recklessly into the arms of
my God!
And
then notice the simple little statement, “I say, ‘You are my God.’” You are my God. You are my God. You are my
God. You are my God. Is not this
simple little statement the very cornerstone of peace itself? If I know He is my God, then I can have peace
through every storm. I may (will) struggle to keep hold of that peace, but,
when I know He is my God, then I know I have a haven. I know there is a place
of peace for my heart even in death itself – because He is my God.
And
this is where grace wins the day. If my relationship with God is at all
dependent on my good efforts, then, when I get hit the hardest, I will find
myself wondering if He really is my God, or if I’ve simply failed too much, or perhaps
He’s finally given up on me. Grace shouts, “NO, no, no! The blood of Jesus rent
the veil!” Jesus’ blood was the ransom for all
of my sin. I am not a convicted criminal. I am a dearly loved child. Grace cut
off the Law’s bony pointing finger and set me in my Father’s lap. Now He is
mine, not because I’ve deserved it, but rather for the very reason that I don’t!
Grace
allows this poor, miserable ever-failing beggar to know He is mine. Grace means I can say with confidence, “You are my
God.” Even in the midst of the most awful griefs, I can hear Him say, “I will
never leave you nor forsake you”-- and know it applies to me. It means He is speaking to
me when He says, “Come boldly unto the throne of Grace, that you may obtain
mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” And why is that? Because I’m so
great? NO, no, no! It is because Jesus is so great and His blood is my
righteousness! This simple little statement, said with the confidence of grace,
“You are my God,” is, I would suggest, a cornerstone of peace itself. And it is
ours.
That
same grace and confidence allow us to go on then and say, “My times are in Your
hand.”
What
times? My times. These times –
whatever that may mean. Into His hand we commended our spirit (v.5) and now
we’re “cashing in our chips.” “In His hand” sometimes our times are peace and
joy and the wonderful warmth of knowing His blessings. But sometimes, like the
disciples, Jesus sends us across the lake, only to find ourselves in a dreadful
storm fearing for our very lives. “My times” include the catalog of miseries of
vv.9-13 – and when I find myself there, I can say, “Deliver me from (literally)
the hand of my enemies.”
If
my times are in God’s hand, then when the enemy says to our soul, “Don’t you
know I have the power to either free you or crucify you?” we can reply with
Jesus, “You would have no power over me if it were not given you from above.”
“I’m not in your hand, I’m in God’s!” And in His hand we say, “Not my will, but
Thine be done.”
What
a precious wonderful gift is faith!
Off
you and I go today into “our times.” We know not this morning what that means,
only that we’ll be in the Lord’s hand.
Faith
says, “That is enough.”
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